jimmies
jimmies Lexical Profile
jimmies Game Scores & Validity
• noun
American Tiny rod-shaped bits of chocolate or multicolored sugar candy used as a topping for ice cream, cakes, and doughnuts.
"She ordered a vanilla soft-serve cone dipped in chocolate jimmies."
Plural form of jimmy: short crowbars with curved ends, typically used by burglars to force open windows or doors.
"The investigators found two steel jimmies discarded near the forced back door."
American A state of nervous agitation, jitters, or annoyance (especially in the informal phrase "rustle someone's jimmies").
"The playful teasing was only meant in jest, not to rustle anyone's jimmies."
• verb
North American To force open or pry a lock, window, or door using a short crowbar or similar lever (third-person singular present tense of jimmy).
"Whenever the old shed latch gets stuck, he jimmies it open with a flathead screwdriver."
Word Nuance & Usage
In parts of New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States (especially Boston and Philadelphia), "jimmies" is the standard everyday word for chocolate or rainbow ice cream sprinkles, whereas elsewhere in English it primarily serves as the plural of "jimmy" (a short crowbar) or in informal expressions like "rustle one's jimmies."
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the given name Jimmy, a diminutive of James; the tool sense originated in 19th-century British thieves' cant (originally spelled "jemmy"), while the confectionery sense emerged in the northeastern United States in the 1930s.